When holding four trump to an honor, it is usually right to lead from your longest side suit. The idea is to force declarer to trump, thus reducing declarer’s trump length. If West can end up with more trump than South – then West will hold the “boss trump” for down 1!

West should lead the 5 at trick one. East plays the J at trick one, and continues with A and another spade which south trumps. South pulls trump. West should now hold off and win the third round of trumps (voiding dummy of trump) and lead the fourth spade – this creates the boss trump in West’s hand as the setting trick!

P.s. It used to be thought that the side five-card suit had to be super strong. In the last couple of decades, the experts have determined that any five-card side suit will do. This is why I don’t write books! When knew theories come down from the top, I just simply update my online lessons!

Take a look at the entire hand:

North (Dummy) Q 7 4 J 10 8J 6 A K 10 9 2

West East K 9 6 5 2 A J 8 A 5 3 2 4 9 2 Q 10 8 5 4 3 7 4 6 5 3

South(Declarer) 10 3 K Q 9 7 6 A K 7 Q J 8

Let me hear your comments!

Visit Play Better Bridge for FREE lesson videos called Defend These Hands with Me! World Champion and Master Teacher Donna Compton walks you through her thought process of opening leads, passive vs aggressive defense and many more “must know” defensive ideas. She will then talk about how she makes the decision as to which technique to apply. The combination of being a world-class player, along with the ability to share her thoughts with all levels of players makes these webinar videos unique. Join Donna today and take your game to the next level!

West leads the DA. East encourages with the 9. West continues with the K and over to East’s Q. East exits with the 10.What is South’s plan?

North (Dummy) K 7 2 Q 9 8 5 J 3 2 A J 5

South (Declarer) A 6 4 A K 10 3 2 7 6 4 K 10

This is a “clue in the bidding” hand.

Declarer lost the first three tricks and is faced with a spade loser. If declarer can work out who has the Q, then a spade can be discarded on the extra club winner. Now for the clues…West, a passed hand, has show up with the AK and the QJ (based on the bidding and East’s 10 return). If West held the Q, he would have opened the bidding! Play East for the Q and lead a low club to the 10, cash the K travel to the K and discard the losing spade on the A.

Take a look at the entire hand:

North (Dummy) K 7 2 Q 9 8 5 J 3 2 A J 5

West East Q J 8 5 3 10 9 7 6 J 4 A K 10 Q 9 8 5 9 4 3 Q 8 7 6 2

South (Declarer) A 6 4A K 10 3 2 7 6 4 K 10

Let me hear your comments!

Visit www.PlayBetterBridge.com for FREE lesson videos called Play These Hands with Me! World Champion and Master Teacher Donna Compton walks you through her thought process of analyzing the dummy and determining the issue of the hand. She will then talk about how she makes the decision as to which technique to apply. The combination of being a world-class player, along with the ability to share her thoughts with all levels of players makes these webinar videos unique. Join Donna today and take your game to the next level!

]]>https://playbetterbridge.wordpress.com/2017/12/20/solve-this-puzzle-62/feed/0Jig Saw PuzzleplaybetterbridgeWhat’s Your Bid? 5-8https://playbetterbridge.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/whats-your-bid-5-8/
https://playbetterbridge.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/whats-your-bid-5-8/#respondThu, 14 Dec 2017 21:26:24 +0000http://playbetterbridge.wordpress.com/?p=4950#8 Neither VulnerableNorth East South West1 1 ? Pass South K 7 4 3 J 10 5 3 Q 7 Q J 3South has a choice of responses. 1NT limits the hand to 6-10 total points and a balanced hand. However, the four-card heart suit could get lost by bidding 1NT. However, making a negative double to show a four-card heart suit is flawed as well.

North East South West 1 1 X Pass 2

If North rebids 2 , then you are stuck! A 2NT rebid by South would show 11-12 totals points. An additional flaw in starting with a negative double is that West may end up trumping spaces if North/South arrive in a heart contract.

After balancing the good and the bad, South should start with 1NT ~ the bid with the fewest flaws.

Let me hear your comments!

Visit Play Better Bridge for FREE lesson videos called Bid These Hands with Me! World Champion and Master Teacher Donna Compton walks you through her thought process of opening leads, passive vs aggressive defense and many more “must know” defensive ideas. She will then talk about how she makes the decision as to which technique to apply. The combination of being a world-class player, along with the ability to share her thoughts with all levels of players makes these webinar videos unique. Join Donna today and take your game to the next level!